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City and County of San Francisco Thursday, February 4, 2010, at 5:30 p.m. 1. Call to Order / Roll Call SFMTA CAC members present at Roll Call: Mary Burns, Steve Ferrario, Cesar Perez, Greg Riessen, Janel Sterbentz, Susan Vaughan, Dorris Vincent, Daniel Weaver and Ruth Wheeler SFMTA CAC members absent at Roll Call: Art Cimento and Griffith Humphrey SFMTA CAC members absent: Joan Downey, Daniel Murphy and Jamison Wieser 2. Adopt minutes of January 14, 2010: The minutes were continued. 3. Public Comment: Aaron Goodman expressed concern regarding a project that crowded three transit stops into a Park Merced office complex. He stated that the service cuts to the 17, 28, 88 and M lines left the Park Merced community with insufficient transportation. There should be more outreach regarding transit modifications. 4. Report of the Chairman: Vice Chairman Ferrario stated that Chairman Daniel Murphy is out of San Francisco on business. 5. Staff Report (Discussion/Action) The staff report was provided. 6. Report on Taxi Industry Reform Options (Discussion/Action) Chris Hayashi Griffith Humphrey arrived at 5:35 p.m. Chris Hayashi, deputy director, Taxi Services, stated that Proposition A created a way to reform the distribution of medallions. The pilot project will qualify drivers who are at least 70 years old to sell their medallions to drivers on the current medallion list. Additionally, the SFMTA presently holds 30 medallions to be reissued. Those on the list can opt to buy a medallion or wait for a free medallion. After that, an opportunity to purchase medallions will be afforded A Permit drivers based on seniority. SFMTA would control medallion pricing and transactions. From the proceeds, 15% would go to the SFMTA and 5% to a driver fund. The proposal is a transitional solution to reduce the number of elderly medallion holders, to foster flexibility in the decision-making and to give a short deadline to observe and report the lessons learned. There will be a report at the project’s end with recommendations for permanent solutions. Art Cimento arrived at 5:50 p.m. Public Comment Barry Korengold stated that the SF Cab Drivers Association was in favor of the proposal. Jane Bolig stated that the proposal was a consensus of the industry. Drivers did not get exactly what they wanted, but they gained something that they could live by. Carl Macmurdo stated that the Medallion Holder Association supports the proposal. There is an urgent need for an exit strategy. Charles Rathbone stated that, while the plan was not what drivers asked for, drivers participated in the process and are supportive. Auduss Sluggy stated that whoever has the money would buy. He stated that he makes $100 per day. David Trotman expressed doubt about the proposal. John Han stated that transferability might not be so bad under a pilot program. He expressed doubt that voters understood Proposition A. Ruach Graffis stated that putting people into debt is criminal. Members of the industry had ideas that were sidestepped. Joe Morapal stated that the SFMTA is infusing millions of dollars into the industry that will boost the meter rate, gate fee and other costs. Mark Gruberg stated that this is unfair. For every medallion purchased, there would be one less medallion attainable for drivers who cannot afford to pay $250,000. The number of available medallions is understated. Dave Barro stated that he supports Proposition K. He is opposed to the proposal. Motion 100126.04 The SFMTA CAC recommends that the SFMTA Board approve the Taxi Medallion Sales Pilot Program as presented by the SFMTA staff on February 4, 2010. On motion to adopt Motion 100126.04: The motion was adopted. Janel Sterbentz departed at 6:30 p.m. 7. FY10 Budget (Discussion/Action) Sonali Bose and Julie Kirschbaum Sonali Bose, CFO/director, Finance and Information Technology, stated that the $120 million budget deficit resulted from expenditures and reduced revenue from the state, the general fund, advertisement and parking. The Board of Supervisors added enhancements that were not funded. Some cuts to staff were delayed or not pursued. The SFMTA Board approved the purchase of catastrophic insurance. Proposed solutions for the deficit include: moving 10% of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to operations; realigning operator schedules; cutting services for special events; vendor give backs; staff reductions; medallion sales; labor concessions; charging customer service fees for transactions available online, by mail or through retail outlets; increasing citations; increasing Residential Parking Permits; and increasing fares. Ms. Bose stated that should the BART Oakland Airport Extension Project fall short of FTA’s requirements for ARRA funds, the SFMTA could potentially get $17.5 million for preventive maintenance and repairs. Julie Kirschbaum, manager, Service Planning, Transit, stated that the SFMTA is developing service modification proposals that are designed to save 300,000 hours of service. The proposed changes are different than the December 2009 service changes, which redistributed resources to congested lines and eliminated service on lines that have a high cost per passenger. Proposed changes entail reducing frequencies and ending routes early. The modifications will be implemented on May 1. Public Comment Aaron Goodman expressed concerns about cuts to the 17 Park Merced line. Two communities were left without access to transit when the 88 BART Shuttle was eliminated. The SFpark program lacked information about approaches to increase revenue. He stated that there is a safety issue at ticket-purchasing booths. David Pilpel asked what would happen if the SFMTA Board does not act. He asked about the level of fare increase needed to stave off service modifications. Proposed owl services have horrendous wait times and are not worthwhile. The first motion makes sense (Motion 100126.01). Mark Christianson expressed concern about disproportionate service changes in neighborhoods and proposed changes to fares, fees and fines. Motion 100126.01 The SFMTA CAC recommends that the SFMTA Board adopt the staff recommendations as of January 26, 2010, for cost savings and revenue increases. The SFMTA CAC further recommends that the SFMTA Board extend parking meter hours to evenings and weekends and seek additional parking related charges sufficient to preempt all additional service cuts for the fiscal year 2010. Motions were made by CAC members to amend Motion 100126.01 as follows: change the date from January 26 to February 4; add the language “but not for the proposed service cuts;” and sever and make into a second motion using the language “The SFMTA CAC further recommends that the SFMTA Board extend parking meter hours to evenings and weekends and seek additional parking related charges sufficient to preempt all additional service cuts for the fiscal year 2010.” The motion as amended reads as follows: Motion 100126.01 The SFMTA CAC recommends that the SFMTA Board adopt the staff recommendations as of February 4, 2010, for cost savings and revenue increases, but not for the proposed service cuts. On motion to amend Motion 100126.01: The amendments were adopted. Ayes – Burns, Cimento, Ferrario, Humphrey, Riessen, Weaver, Wheeler, Vaughan and Vincent Sue Vaughan moved to amend the amended Motion 100126.01 as follows: delete the language, “but not for the proposed service cuts” and insert the language, “with the exception of proposed fare increases and service reductions.” The motion as amended reads as follows: Motion 100126.01 The SFMTA CAC recommends that the SFMTA Board adopt the staff recommendations as of February 4, 2010, for cost savings and revenue increases, with the exception of proposed fare increases and service reductions. On motion to amend the amended Motion 100126.01: The amendment failed adoption. Ayes – Riessen, Cimento, Vaughan and Vincent The motion as amended reads as follows: Motion 100126.01 The SFMTA CAC recommends that the SFMTA Board adopt the staff recommendations as of February 4, 2010, for cost savings and revenue increases, but not for the proposed service cuts. On motion to approve Motion 100126.01 as amended: The motion was adopted. Ayes – Burns, Cimento, Ferrario, Humphrey, Riessen, Weaver, Wheeler and Vincent Vice Chairman Ferrario asked for a discussion to develop a motion (100204.01) from the following language severed from Motion 100126.01: “The SFMTA CAC further recommends that the SFMTA Board extend parking meter hours to evenings and weekends and seek additional parking related charges sufficient to preempt all additional service cuts for the fiscal year 2010.” Without objection, Greg Riessen moved to insert the language, “and enforcement efforts.” Without objection, Ruth Wheeler moved to insert the language, “especially in the SFpark pilot areas.” Public Comment on Motion 100204.01: Aaron Goodman stated that he supports fees on traffic impacting the city, especially on weekends. David Pilpel suggested that the motion could include fare increases to preempt service cuts. The recommendation as amended reads as follows: Motion 100204.01 The SFMTA CAC recommends that the SFMTA Board extend parking meter hours to evenings and weekends, especially in the SFpark pilot areas and seek additional parking related charges and enforcement efforts sufficient to preempt all additional service cuts for the fiscal year 2010. On motion to approve Motion 100204.01 as amended: The motion was adopted. Ayes – Burns, Ferrario, Humphrey, Riessen, Vaughan, Vincent, Weaver and Wheeler Motion 100126.02 The SFMTA CAC recommends that the SFMTA Board lobby the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to defund the Oakland Airport connector project and apply San Francisco’s share of these funds to preventative maintenance of the SFMTA revenue vehicle fleet. Ms. Bose stated that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission granted BART an extension to conform to requirements for ARRA funding. If BART is unable to comply, then the funds will be reallocated to other transit agencies. Without objection, Motion 100126.02 was taken off the table. 8. Declaration of FY11/12 Fiscal Emergency (Discussion/Action) Sonali Bose Sonali Bose, CFO/director, Finance and Information Technology, stated that if the SFMTA Board was to put something on the ballot, and it did not pass, then the Board would need to consider other options. The SFMTA Board is expected to declare a fiscal emergency in March. Public Comment: Aaron Goodman suggested taxing institutes that profit from transit. David Pilpel stated that the motion was premature. The FAC should hear a presentation regarding the FY11/12 operating budget. Motion 100126.03 The SFMTA CAC recommends that the SFMTA Board not adopt the Declaration of Fiscal Emergency for the FY11/12 budget unless members of the Board of Directors find that they have exhausted options for additional revenue, including, but not limited to, expansion of parking meter hours and placing revenue raising ballot measures on the San Francisco Ballot. On motion to adopt Motion 100126.03: The motion failed adoption. 9. Committee Reports: Dan Weaver requested that the Stroller policy be reviewed by the CAC. 10. Committee Members’ Questions/Information Requests: (Discussion)
11. Agenda Planning for the Next Regular Meeting Tentatively Scheduled: Next regular meeting: March 4, 2010, at 5:30 p.m. 12. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: |
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